Sheathed knife clasp



APIY23, 1946- D. c. BAILEY 2,398,764

. SHEATHED KNFE CLASP Filed Feb. 1e, 1945 Z0/mm EAM Ey I nventor I By uw Patented Apr. 23, 1946 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHEATHED KNIFE CLASP Donald C. Bailey, Middletown, Conn.

Application February 16, 1945, Serial No. 578,285

2 Claims.

.This invention relates to sheath knives and more particularly to clasps for securing a knife in its sheath against accidental removal.

In order to prevent a knife from falling out of its sheath it has been customary to employ a strap which is snapped into position to partly close the mouth of the sheath. Such a structure while serving the purpose admirably has necessitated the unsnapping and release of the strap before the knife could be extracted from the sheath. In many instances such unsnapping and release of the strap has proven unhandy for the user with the result that it has become a common practice to leave the strap open while the knife was in use. Such practice however, has its hazards, as a knife in an open sheath is likely to fall out and become lost.

The object of this invention is to so secure a knifein its sheath that while it may be readily extracted by the user is yet secured against accidental removal.

The above, and other objects may be attained by employing this invention which embodies among its features a pair of resilient jaw members secured adjacent the mouth of the sheath which are adapted to yieldably engage a stop carried by the knife in such a manner that the knife cannot be extracted from the sheath unless'suflicient force is exerted on it to overcome the resistance of the jaw members against the stop.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a side view of a knife sheath equipped with this improved clasp and showing a knife in place therein,

Figure 2 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1, and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of my improved knife clasp showing a knife partly withdrawn.

Referring to the drawing in detail, a knife designated generally I Il is shown as housed in a conventional sheath designated generally II. This knife is of the conventional form and comprises a handle I2 and blade I3 separated by the usual guard I4. As shown in Figures 1 and 2 the blade is pierced as at I5 at a point a short distance below the guard I4 to receive a rivet I6 both ends of which are upset to form convex heads I1 which serve as stops as will be more fully hereinafter explained.

The sheath II is of conventional form being formed with a pocket to receive the knife blade I3 and having the customary belt loop I8 for attachment to the belt of the user. Riveted as at I9 adjacent the mouth of the blade receiving pocket is my improved clasp designated generally 20. This clasp comprises a pair of identical yielding jaw members 2| each of which is provided adjacent opposite ends with offset ears 22 which are pierced as at 23 to receive the rivets I9 previously mentioned. Formed midway between the ends of each jaw member 2I is a groove or channel 24 which bells outwardly near its upper end and terminates at its lower end in an enlarged recess. It is to be noted that the recess of each jaw member 2| is slightly larger than the channel 24 which necks inwardly as it approaches the recess and it also is to be observed that the recess of each jaw member is located below the upper edge of said member a distance substantially equal to the distance of the rivet I6 below the guard I4 on the knife.

In use the knife blade I3 is entered into the sheath pocket in the usual way so that it enters between jaw members 2|. Upon pushing the knife blade home into its pocket in the sheath the convex rivet heads l1 enter the bell shaped portions of the channels 24 through which they pass into the recesses formed at the lower terminals of the channels. In so forcing the knife blade I3 into place, the rivet heads I1 pass the inwardly necked portions of the channels and hence exert pressure on the walls thereof causing the jaw members 2I to spring outwardly until the enlarged recesses are encountered at which time the jaw members return to normal position and securely lock the knife in the sheath. The knife when so locked cannot fall out of the sheath and in fact accidental removal of the knife from its sheath is practically impossible.

What is claimed is:

1. A knife clasp comprising the combination with a knife having a rivet extending through the blade and a convex head on each end of the rivet, of a sheath for receiving the knife blade, a pair of yielding jaws secured to the sheath and adapted to encompass the knife blade when it is in the sheath, each such jaw having a guide channel and a depression at one terminal of the guide channel for receiving a rivet head when the blade is inserted its full length in the sheath.

2. A knife clasp comprising a pairof yielding jaw members adapted to encompass a knife blade, each such jaw member having a guide channel intermediate its ends, each such guide channel opening at one end through one edge of its respective jaw member and terminating at its opposite end in an enlarged recess, a knife blade carrying stops for entry through the guide channels into the recesses and a knife blade enclosing sheath surrounding the clasp for supporting it on the person of the user.

DONALD C. BAILEY. 

